Valeo is a French global automotive supplier headquartered in France with 186 production plants, 59 R&D centers, and 15 distribution platforms around the world. This technical facility in San Luis Potosi provides 201,000 square feet for design, fabrication and testing of electric automobile motor parts. The company asked Davis Brody Bond, a Page company for a building that reflected their leading-edge image and we responded with a dramatic and functional design that uses the strengths of the local construction industry to project high-tech sophistication within a conventional budget.

The building’s most striking aspect is the structural masts and tension cables projecting above the roof and to the sides. This system produces a 245-foot column free interior span, allowing for total flexibility in production line layout. Elegant custom-designed structural connections make the most of the high-quality, affordable metalwork and welding available in Mexico. The premium for the cable structure was more than offset by the 10% area reduction afforded by the unobstructed factory floor.

Planning centered on three goals: ease of expansion, maximum flexibility and interdepartmental communication. All of these are satisfied by the modular structure and building systems, and the openness they permit. The building is sited along a major highway, and its memorable silhouette gives Valeo a very public and positive presence in the region.